CATHEDRAL CITY, Calif. - UC Riverside kicked off the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Thursday with hard-fought defeats to Rutgers and BYU by scores of 7-5 and 5-3, respectively. 

HOW IT HAPPENED 

• Nadia Witt wasted no time securing her second home run of the season, launching a leadoff blast to right field in the top of the first against Rutgers. 
• Witt drove in UCR's second run of the game as well, flying out to right field in the fifth inning to score Allyssa Alano from third. Kat Montuya singled to short on the next at bat to bring Leah Brito home.  
• Montuya's bat stayed hot into the seventh against the Scarlet Knights, going the same direction and singling through the left side to bring a pair of runs home.  
• Witt extended her hit streak to nine later in the day, going 1 for 3 against the Cougars with a run. UCR did its damage across the final three innings with its no-quit mentality.  
• Brooke Perez racked up three strikeouts against BYU, going 4.1 innings while facing 17 batters. 

HIGHLANDER HIGHLIGHTS 

• Witt has now recorded a hit in every game this season after her 1-for-3 performance against BYU.  
• Montuya went 2 for 3 with three RBIs against Rutgers.  

UP NEXT 

• UC Riverside will continnue play at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic on Friday with a 6:00 p.m. first pitch against Seattle, followed by an 8:30 p.m. first pitch against Baylor. Both games will be streamed live on FloSports.